If you watched the infamous Super Bowl commercials last Sunday, you should be aware of the controversy Coca-Cola has stirred up with its new advert entitled “It’s Beautiful.” The 60-second video ad featured “America, the Beautiful,” sung in seven languages over scenes of Americans of different ethnicities spending time together.
Soon after the airing of the ad, outrage swiftly broke out on Twitter and Facebook, as evidenced by a newly created hashtag: #SpeakAmerican. Apparently, many Americans do not think that Coca-Cola, as a U.S. corporation, should advertise in languages other than English.
As an international student pursuing my studies in the United States, I think it is ignorant for some Americans to feel that the only language that should be used in their everyday lives is English.
While many who protested against Coca-Cola for showcasing non-English languages in the context of a patriotic song think that such action was anti-American, these critics might not have realized that multilingualism is the current reality in America.
According to the latest American Community Survey (2011) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, many people living in the United States speak languages other than English, despite the predominance of English as the quasi-official language in America. In the survey, the Census Bureau had created a list of 381 languages spoken by Americans and reported that some 22% of Americans do not consider themselves good English speakers.
Given these conditions, many U.S. citizens are still blind to the fact that the American society is constantly diversifying into a multicultural community.
Reproaching the ad, @TheSeaweed wrote: “I feel un-American for drinking Coke today. I took an oath to defend this country. How is a song to our nation sang in different languages?”
And @tylerwyckoff24 said: “Nice to see that coke likes to sing an AMERICAN song in the terrorist’s language. Way to go coke. You can leave America.”
For the irony in writing, @danielle_raab wrote: “it’s called English, your in America … not 3542 different languages.”
And the disgraceful list goes on with other name-calling, public-shaming comments.
Without endorsing any of Coke products, I stand by the brand’s intention to send out a good message during an event watched by at least one-third of Americans. After airing the commercial, Coke tweeted on its official Twitter profile: “The only thing more beautiful than this country are the people who live here.”
I think Coke has probably realized how that is not quite true.
They say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder; I think that is fairly accurate. As one of the most controversial Super Bowl ads this year, Coke did not rely on usual tactics – humor, terror, catchy tunes, or clever wordplay – but instead captured our attention by simply reflecting the reality of life in America. That, to me, is the real beauty.
Thanks, creators of the Coke ad, for reminding America that multiculturalism and diversity should be valued and emphasized in our society. It’s a shame that not everyone thinks this way.
Image credit: HLNTV.com
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